Negaunee ref criticized

February 2, 2012 - Burt Angeli

Mark Cuban tore into Negaunee’s Mark Ayotte and his NBA officiating partners after the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 95-86.

“Look, I haven’t said a whole lot about the officiating in a long, long time, but I haven’t seen it this bad in a long, long time,” the Mavericks owner told ESPNDallas.com. “Guys miss calls; that’s part of the game. You’re not always going to have a great crew. Officials have got to learn that’s part of the game.

“But these were officials (Ron Garretson, Michael Smith and Mark Ayotte) that have been part of the league for years, and it was just off-the-charts bad. And, if no one ever says anything, nothing ever happens.”

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, upset with the officiating, was ejected after kicking a ball into the stands.